Thinking About Stock Photography

I have been thinking about getting into Stock Photography as a way to sell my images.

Does anyone have any advice on how or where to get started? What a good website to checkout?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

At the top of this forum is a bar where you can enter and do a search. Enter "stock" and click "Go". You will find quite a few discussions that have already taken place. You should find a wealth of knowledge there!!!

Troup

The market is so flooded with photographers now that stock sales are really a hit or miss kind of deal. Mostly miss. With sites designed to almost give work away and I wont name them and then add the photographers willing to give work away for a credit line makes it really hard on those of us making our soul living on our images. I'd try some of the larger agencies to start with like Corbis. The big hurdle will be getting your foot in the door and then if you get your foot in the door the next step will be to get them to hawk your work. I find I do better by sending out letters to legitimate publications with a good idea of story and images ready to publish. Of course that’s the trick to making money in natural history publishing is to have something nobody else has done or at the vary least have an image that they have never seen. Be warned that if you just give the entire idea away some publications will just take the idea and do it themselves! Be careful out there the water is full of sharks.

Ditto to what Douglas said. My advice, first determine what value level you want to sell your images, i.e pennies or a few bucks, or is your time, talent and efforts worth more, as in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Check out the license models from Microstock RF, Traditional RF, and Rights Managed, (RM) which is a license and fee based on how the image is used, rather than an all encompassing license for a basic flat fee determined by the file size, (RF).

Check out my Business Resources page, and especially be sure to check out the Stock Artist Alliance for additional info.

Cheers & hope that helps. Good Luck, and (IMHO) value your work!

Thanks for your opinions and advice. I've learned quite a bit by reading materials you've suggested. Almost seems like stock photography isn't the way to go for a nature photographer. Any more advice or thoughts?

AS read on this forum: stock is not really the best way. Look for an "agency" wich can work with yours pictures. Behind the stock, you're haven't anyone to help you for research, ideas, help. I managed my own agency here in France. For us, stock is alive ! It must live and not stay sleepy, wainting something ! For any informations about us email me ! the website: http://www.naturimages.com

Stock for nature photographers is a tough haul. It is extremely oversaturated. The most successful stock shooters are shooting things like lifestyle and themed work.